I had 2 versions of mine, a V10 NA, and a V8TT. Tried to turbo the V10 and got massive intake and exhaust restrictions. The V10 also ran the (apparently) dreaded headers. Not the race long, but I think they are called tubular. Noise on both engines was just under 30. On the V10 I had baffle->reverse and the V8 got through->reverse since the turbos quiet it some. Finally the fuel economy of the V8 won out (20 instead of 16), but it looks like I dodged 2 bullets with that one. The perform almost the same, but the V10 sounds better in Beam IMO.

“This one is a definite eye cleanser compared to the previous one.” Alex continued to read up about the BF…

Perhaps an interesting phenomenon that BürgerFahrzeug continues to offer this to the states. It is wildly quicky, featuring a 5l v10. Perhaps that’s its appeal, but in the performance SUV market now its 336hp is wildly outclassed and despite everything this compact SUV can do for you, its practicality is offset by the fact it uses a v10. If you’re a fan of quirks and strange features you will like this, but as a modern performance SUV we cannot recommend this.

“Huh, that’s a weird one. Actually a bit small too, going to have to go with no on this as well.” Alex discarded the Wildschwein.

The Albatross Pomona advertises itself as a performance wagon, but a better term for it is a sleeper. With 460 hp and a 0-60 of 4.1 seconds, it is certainly quick. However, that performance comes at a cost of its road going manners. The 6 speed dct is not the best around town, even while providing a very good 32 mpg average.

“Hmmm, yeah, I think the wagon offerings just aren’t doing it for me.” Alex discarded the Albatross.

With the 460hp and dual clutch transmission and geared differential, its seems that Avantii had all the intentions of making a performance SUV here. The unfortunate choice of cheap tires here however means you would be better off not trying to corner hard, and they do not provide better ones from the factory. Its infotainment additionally is woefully outdated.

The GXE Redline is… an attempt at entering the performance SUV market. It has all the bells and whistles, but its evident that they rather you replace all the performance parts and go offroading instead. The ladder frame and solid axle makes the ride quality far behind the competition, not speaking of the handling that is held up only by the sport compound tires. If you’re a fan of its looks however, the Surverer is one solid piece of machinery.

“Hmm… the looks are… that certainly is a SUV.” Alex noted. The internals however…

[This probably should have been instabinned for the sports interior and way under powered 6l v10, but I guess its here now. Honestly aside from the engine tuning, overall brake tuning and interior choice however it wasn’t too bad]

Unlike the majority of the performance SUV lineup, GMBK has opted to keep the capacity to carry seven people -in a rather comfortable way - along. Rather that is a boon for you or not, it certainly does not hurt the Cambria’s performance, as its 600hp V8 shoves it along. That V8 however, could use some work as it is rather laggy with its turbos.

“I’ll take a bit more research on the engine, but I’ll put it on the list for now.”

Morton comes in with the new Ceylon Turbo and its mostly good words about this SUV. It is very well sorted, providing a very smooth ride along with a stable and predictable steering. The 5.3l turbo V8 is arguably one of the best in the class, at 590 HP that gives both a very quiet ride and very quick ride - going to 0-60 in just 4.4 seconds. The only nitpick really is the 6 speed automatic - dated compared to its competitors 7 and even 8 speeds.

The Forea Asper provides a lower cost alternative to punch into the performance SUV market - and that’s not to say its bad. Perhaps it doesn’t reach the ridiculous acceleration that some of the market provides at this point, but it still has exceptional road going manners and handling.

Seeing little downsides to the Forea, Alex put it on his list as well.

Obey Rocoto. We’ve seen this around for a few years now and it remains to be as solid as ever. There’s a reason why you see these around the rich neighborhoods and that’s due to just how nice it is to ride in, while providing just enough oomph to leave your average peasant in the dust. It is however, still a rather pricey package.

Though it is on the higher end of the price spectrum, Alex saw no major reason to cut it out at this time.

“This is one is quite good as well - maybe a tad less aggressive however.”

The Brigid Artemis looks good. And on paper, it seems good as well. However, it does seem that they had not fully invested in the future just yet, with a slightly outdated 6 speed and safety features - despite achieving a very respectable safety score. Perhaps might be a good idea to wait for Brigid to update the SUV before going in for this package.

“Shame, and I’m not really interested in waiting.” Alex discarded the Brigid Artemis.

The Olsson 6455 ORKAN aims to take the performance SUV market by storm. Has it achieve that? Well, its definitely a contender, with its nicely responsive V8 and DCT that propels it to 60 in 4.2 seconds. That being said, its fine doing could be improved, as its roadholding grip is a little lower than expected.

“Hmm… Well, I do like how it looks…” Alex tentatively put the Olsson on his list. Seeing as he had plenty of solid options already, he decided to look at just one more SUV.

“Wow, this thing looks good, I could see myself getting this.” Alex nodded.

The Rigore Seneca MT-R, it will definitely sell. Its compact SUV size means that the 449 HP 3.2l flat 6 can keep it up with SUVs a solid 100 horses more, and even beat them on the track. But that’s not exactly why you buy a SUV and there is one major issue with it: its engine. While it may have been solid in its hayday, it simply is not the most reliable unit. Which is a shame, as it is well tuned, put perhaps pushed a bit too far.

“Ah, that’s a shame. Looks really good but I think I would prefer not dealing with engine issues.”

122 Part 3.5 and Finals

Looking at his shortlist, Alex decided it might be a bit much to go to 10 dealerships, especially if he wanted input from Lisa as well. Cutting it in half, that should be very doable. Plus it shouldn’t take too much research to cut the list down to size.

The first to go were the two most ‘performance focused’ SUVs. It was a bit of a shame as the two were both really good looking, but in further reading, neither of which matched the other SUVs in ride quality. And so the Olsson 6455 ORKAN ( @MasterDoggo ) and EFI Takano SR ( @Lazar ) were the first to go.

To a similar vein, the GMBK Cambria ( @goblin95 ) provided more than those two, with a 7 seat configuration. However, Alex wasn’t expecting to need to ever use the +2 seats so it wasn’t exactly a selling point. Not to mention its engine, which was far more laggy compared to the rest of the shortlist.

Next was looking at prices. That unfortunately meant the Evgenis Cerberus ES V8 ( @Cheeseman ) and the Obey Rocoto ( @Ryan93 & @CorsicaUnknown ) were the next two to go. They were the most expensive ones left and though both provided solid enough numbers, there was no reason to go for them as the other ones left provided similar if not better of a package at a lower price point.

With the shortened shortlist completed, Alex went to his wife to actually go to the dealerships.

“So, remember when I said I was going to take a look at getting another car?” Alex started.

“Hmm… no, I remember telling you to do that.” Lisa replied. “Don’t take credit for that decision.”

“Yeah yeah… sorry, heh. Anyways, I got a list of ones to actually look at.” Alex gave Lisa his list, compete with a picture of each.

“You’re going to drag me to 5 dealers then?” Lisa jokingly asked.

“Hey, I want your input, and would you have prefered 20?”

“Well, if you put it that way… yes 5 is okay.”

The first dealer the couple arrived to was that of Forea’s. Lines of their vehicles stood outside, though of course, Alex was only interested in one of them. After taking a look around the dealer for a short while, they were approached by a salesman.

“Hello there, how may I help you today sir and madam?” The Forea sales rep greeted.

“Hello. We would like to take a look at the Asper.” Lisa started.

“The GTS model in particular.” Alex added on.

“Ah yes, of course. Right this way.” The sales person led them to the showroom model.

[Sorry I apparently don’t have the rims you had, no marks taken off for that]

Oddly enough, the showroom model had the same blue, that looked even more faded somehow in real life. Though it seemed to have just been a choice and Alex didn’t have to choose that blue, the paint and quality of the trim looked pretty good. Looking into its interior, it was nicely designed with a decent looking infotainment, with good finish. Interior was spaceious, and the trunk was as well (though I will note that all of the final 5 had roughly the same boot space). It all seemed pretty decent. After taking a look at paperwork and pricing Alex raised the question.

“How about we take a test drive?”

“Of course, right this way.”

Driving impressions on the Forea was good. The 8-speed made for a nice and smooth ride, in spite of the bit of lag. Acceleration was about as expected for its numbers, though he expected it to be the slowest of the bunch due to that. What was surprising though was how firm the ride was. Not that it was bad, but it was definitely stiffer than he had expected. At the end of the drive, the vehicle mpg was about as advertising thanks to its solid gearing.

“Seemed to be a decent enough SUV.” Lisa noted

“Yeah, but this is just the first of 5.”

Without another SUV to compare to however, there wasn’t much to decide on at this time and Alex and Lisa moved onto the next dealership.

The next dealership that they had arrived to was Morton’s. Like Forea’s, the Morton dealership had plenty to show for. What they were here to look at of course, was just the Ceylon, in which there were plenty of around.

The Ceylon Turbo at first glance was better than the Asper. Might have just been the colour but both Lisa and Alex thought the design was cleaner overall. At certain spots however, the Ceylon did seem of slightly less quality than the Asper. This followed through to the interior, where while the design and materials were of the same as the Asper’s, it was just slightly worse overall. It was however, more spacious inside. Still, that was only part of the equation and they went into pricing next. As he had read online, it was a bit more expensive than the Asper.

“Seems like the Asper is better for now.” Lisa whispered.

“Well, we haven’t got it onto the road yet.” Alex replieid.

On the test drive, the extra costs were actually quite apparent. Despite its slightly worse interior, the ride was much smoother. The six speed was a bit less smooth than the 8, but the engine made up for it with a better torque curve. Once of the big differences of course, was the acceleration. The Ceylon was quite a bit quicker. Grippier as well, but that was to be expected with the sport tires.

After the test drive, it was clear to Alex that the Ceylon was worth the better one of the two, with Lisa agreeing the ride quality (along with a few things such as its safety rating) made it a better SUV. Plus its faster, so there’s that.

Still, there was three more to go.

The Novak dealership was the next one they went over to. Novak’s design language was definitely more exotic compared to the previous two and it showed in the lineup. The Grifone edition was readily visible in its bright red.

Looking into the interior, it was definitely the lowest end the three they had looked at so far in terms of design and materials. Still, the build quality was quite good, perhaps better than the Ceylon’s even. The exterior and paint however, was slightly worse in quality than the Ceylon’s.

A sales person soon approached the couple. “Ah, I see you are interested in the Atlantico. Anything I could help you with?”

“Yes, we’d like to take a look at pricing, and do a test drive.” Alex replied.

Pricing on the Atlantico was lower than the Ceylon, however looking a bit deeper somehow it had higher yearly costs than it. Not that it would make much difference, as the Atlantico on paper had a MPG advantage as well

On the test drive, the most apparent thing was that it was less rolly than the Ceylon, and quite a bit sharper on the turns. There was a trade off in ride quality due to that of course, and also a bit of overall smoothness of the drive despite the Atlantico having a better transmission. Despite the sharpness however, Alex felt the Ceylon was a better drive than the Atlantico. On the acceleration front, the Ceylon was also a bit punchier and faster overall.

After the test drive, it was agreed that the Ceylon edged out the Atlanico, especially since their final costs would be fairly similar.

Farox was the next dealership the couple had arrived at. It was quite the modern building, which fit well with the Farox’s vehicle. Alex and Lisa quickly found the display model of the Merida RF8.

First thing that’s apparent was that it looked the most premium of the SUVs they had seen so far. Both outside and in had that bit of quality that exceeded the others. And within, it was definitely the best, materials, design and construction was all top notch. Plus it had the best infotainment and speaker package as well. So needless to say, it was a good first impression from the Meridia.

A sales rep came over and saw the the interested couple. “Hello, is there anything I can assist you with regarding the Meridia?”

“Hmm… looks very impressive, perhaps you can let us do a test drive?” Lisa responded.

“Certainly, we just have to do a bit of paperwork first if you don’t mind.”

As expected, the Meridia RF8 was the most expensive of the bunch seen so far. Yearly costs however was not too bad, better than both the Atlantico and Ceylon.

On the test drive, the first thing that the couple noticed was how fast it was. It was honestly on the slightly ridiculous side, as the amount of torque the Meridia had also amplified the effect. However, once the fun of the acceleration slightly wore off, there was a few… issues that was apparent with it. Being the only one equipped with a DCT, it had all the advantages of its acceleration but was definitely the worst in traffic, being nowhere near as smooth through the gears. The ride was about as stiff as the Asper’s though its better seats offset that.

After the test drive, Alex certainly loved the acceleration, but as Lisa reminded him, that wasn’t all they were looking for. And in terms of what they were looking for, the Ceylon was still technically the top of the list.

There was still one more to go however…

The last dealership they had gone to was that of Jinhe’s. Its lineup was sharp, though had a good look of quality to them. Inside, a sales rep greeted the couple.

“Welcome, what may I help you with today?” The Jinhe sales rep greeted.

Though the design was much more aggressive compared to the Meridia’s, the Luofu had a similar premium quality to it. The build quality and paint material looked to be better even. Inside, the overall design and materials was worse than the Meridia’s, though everything was put together as well as the Meridia. The couple were pleasantly surprised that it had a infotainment and speaker system that rivaled the Meridia’s however.

They were later lead into an office to look at some numbers. The Jinhe undercut the Farox by a little bit, but that was to be expected with the interior materials. What was surprising however was the yearly expenses of the Jinhe - it was hundreds lower than expected. That combined with the build quality and… well, average fuel economy made it worth it, especially if they were to keep it for a few years - which was the plan.

Onto the test drive, the Luofu did not have the acceleration of the Meridia - though that was expected. Still, it wasn’t slow, being as fast as the Ceylon despite being 50 HP down on it. That said however, it was both very well behaved on the road and had good ride quality. The 7 speed transmission was smooth through the gears and in terms of suspension, it struck a good balance of being firm enough for good handling and good comfort.

At the end of the test drive, it was pretty apparent that the Luofu was a good balance of a performer. Was it better than the Ceylon however?

Congratulations @Yangx2 ! You definitely made my judging both easier and harder when it was one of the first entries to come in and instantly overtook all of my builds as a benchmark. It was simply the best all rounder and that was what I was looking for.

2nd: @CriticalSet9849 - Honestly you were 1 or 2 decisions from taking number 1. The engine was the best of the finalists and the overall fine tuning was very well done.

3rd: @On3CherryShake - In terms of styling, you had my pick. But it was a bit too sport in the end to win.

Thanks for hosting this round, Xepy. Performance crossovers are right down my alley and you did not disappoint with this round.

Also shoutout CriticalSet for such a large improvement over a short period of rounds, really impressive stuff to be up there with the big guns despite being so new!

As much as I would have loved to host the next round, finals are just around the corner and I’d rather be putting my focus on that. If I do get the chance to host a round during the summer, expect me to do so.

Congrats to Yang, Critical, and everyone else! Jumping on the bus saying that this was a superb round, very nicely done Xepy.

That being said, let’s see if I can do just as well! I’ve got nothing better to do so I would love to give hosting a try. All I ask is y’alls patience haha.

The new release is gonna drop any second now, and I think for CSR123 we’ll wait for that release. I’ll put together a rule set and post something either today or tomorrow, but then it will be on hold until the update is released to make things easier. I would rather not have an update come out in the middle of a round.

Bare with me, this is my first time hosting, I beg your patience :)) Let’s do it!

CSR 123 - Slightly Super Saloons
Preface
If you need a refresh of the CSR rules, guidelines, or anything else, please click here. If you’d like to view the previous round, that can be found here.
This is my first time hosting a CSR! Please bare with me if it doesn’t run as smoothly as others have. I will be putting forth my best foot with this and I have all the confidence I need to be able to say that I’m genuinely excited. I’m gonna leave some things a bit p to your interpretation, because…